Jared Bakuza PhD

University of Dar es Salaam

Dr. Jared Bakuza is a lecturer at Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE), Tanzania where teaches biology to undergraduate students and also supervises postgraduate students and conducts research in biomedical sciences.

Dr. Bakuza obtained his Bachelor of Science degree with honours and a Masters’ degree in zoology from the University of Dar es Salaam. In 2012 he was awarded a PhD by the University of Glasgow UK after writing a thesis on infection patterns of schistosomiasis in humans and wild baboons in the Gombe Ecosystem in western Tanzania.

Dr. Bakuza is focused and has determination to achieve his goals. He briefly worked as a Research Assistant in Gombe National Park in 2001 overseeing behavioral research in baboons. In 2002 he obtained the UK government’s prestigious Chevening Scholarship to work on great apes conservation status at the World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge. His work there contributed significantly to produce the World Atlas of Great Apes, which was later published as a book by University of California Press.

He was then tasked to coordinate chimpanzee health monitoring project at Gombe, which made major success in reducing risks for disease transmission between humans and animals in the park. In 2008, Dr. Bakuza moved to DUCE where he has been teaching ever since.

Furthermore, Dr. Bakuza has good organizational and leadership skills which have enabled him to achieve significantly in his career. He does not give in to life challenges and obstacles that often impede progress of many budding professionals.

Immediately after his PhD, Dr. Bakuza embarked on his teaching and research work with vigour and determination. He has been teaching large classes of between 200-500 students in a three-month semester, which involve giving lectures, organizing practical sessions in the laboratory and setting-up, moderating and marking of mid-semester and final university examinations. All of this work was carried out alongside his other demanding activities including being Head of the Department of Physics, Mathematics and Informatics at the college for about two years. During his admnistrative tenure, Dr. Bakuza succesfully organized and oversaw academic and administraive activities in the Department. He was also involved in research activities including coordination of WHO’s funded project on the use of geospatial data to enhance control of schistosomiasis in Tanzania. Some of Dr. Bakuza’s research work have been or are under consideration for publication in peer-reviewed journals.

Through his teaching and research experiences, Dr. Bakuza has always been fascinated by the capacity of geographical maps to convey information in a simple and clear way about our world and how this could be incorporated in disease monitoring and management in low-income settings. His future and current research are thus centred on the exploitation and integration of geographical information science (GIS) in the control of neglected tropical disease such as schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiases. He also has deep desire for better quality of life for most people in rural areas in Tanzania especially in relation to disease control and improved sanitation and hygiene. He is therefore determined to contribute in bringing to the fore currently available GIS knowledge and skills to develop innovative interventions against neglected tropical diseases in his native country Tanzania and beyond.



Appearances